Surgical-dressing packer.



Patented Sept. 3, l90l.

" INVENTOR JOHN ELLWOOI] LEE J. E. LEE SURGICAL DRESSING PAGKER.

(Apphution filed Dec. 18, 1900 (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES P TENT QFFICE.

JOHN ELLWOOD LEE, OF OONSHOHOCKEN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SURGICAL-DRESSING PACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,090, datedSeptember 3, 1901. Application filed December 13, 1900. Serial No.39,735. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ELLwooD LEE, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing in Conshohocken, in the county of Montgomery, State ofPennsylvania, have invented an Instrument for Packing SurgicalDressings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to the construction of a specialsurgical instrument designed for packing antiseptic gauze or othersurgical dressing into the uterus or deep-seated abscesses or wounds.For example, such instruments consist, essentially, of a hollow tube incombination with a pointed plunger, which can be reciprocated in thetube to feed the dressing from the back end of the tube and out at theforward end, which has been inserted in the uterus, abscess, or wound tobe packed. Heretofore the tube has either been left plain inside or hasbeen provided with an internal pointed spring. If the tube is leftplain, the gauze or other dressing is apt to be drawn back with thebackward movement of the plunger, and therefore no progress is made infeeding. The internal spring avoids that difficulty, but is open to theobjection that the instrument is diflicult to keep clean and free frombacteria, and the spring adds to the cost.

The object of my invention, therefore, is to meet both of theseobjections, and this I do by a simple and inexpensive construction ofthe packing-tube itself.

In the accompanying drawings,- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of oneform of my improved packing-tnbe with dressing in it. Fig. 2 is a sideview of a reciprocating plunger for the tube. Fig. 3 is an outside viewof the two together.

The tube may be made of any suitable material, such as metal, glass, orhard rubber. At the rear end it is made, as shown in the drawings, witha flaring mouth A for convenience in feeding the packing into it. Thetube may be straight or curved, according to by the hand. A guard orgage O, frictionally adjustable lengthwise on the tube, may be providedto aid the operator in inserting the for ward end of the instrument theproper dis= tance into the wound, uterus, duo.

The essential feature of my invention consists in forming in the body ofthe tube, preferably toward its forward end, annular indentations, asshown at D in Figs. 1 and 3. These indentations may be of any suitablenumber in a tube. For instance, in Figs. 1 and 3 I have shownv threeannular indentations. In any case these indentations are such as to formon the inside of the tube projections of such a character as to engagethe dressing which is being fed into and through the tube by thereciprocations of the pointed plunger and prevent the backward slip ofthe dressing at each backward movement of the plunger. I use annularindentations, be cause they not only are thoroughly effective inpreventing backward slip of the dressing, but they are most effective incompelling the plunger-rod to take good hold of the dressing on theforward or feed movement.

I claim as my invention- A surgical-dressing packer, comprising a tubehaving an annular indentation in the body of the tube, in combinationwith a feeding-plunger, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. v

JOHN ELLWOOD LEE. W'itnesses:

J. CARL DE LA Conn, F. R. J ONES.

